The music of Peter Lieuwen has been commissioned, performed, and recorded by orchestras, small ensembles and artists throughout North America and Europe. His symphonic music has been hailed as “an attractive array of shimmering, shuddering sonorities, making the most of minimal means” (The New York Times), “arresting in every single measure” (New York Daily News) and “undeniably ear – catching” (The St. Louis Post-Dispatch). The composer’s music for small ensembles has been described as “slight, dependent on dainty sound effects, and attractive” (The New Yorker), “broad in instrumental palette and highly successful in its handling of balances” (Musical America) and “dramatic, intricate, and incisive” (American Record Guide).
Many of Lieuwen’s compositions are impressions of nature and legend, infused with the kinetic rhythms of jazz and world musics. His orchestral works have been introduced by such orchestras as The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Americas, National Orchestral Association, Grosseto Symphony Orchestra (Italy), Kozalin State Philharmonic (Poland), Leipzig Academic Orchestra (Germany), Musicfest International Orchestra (Wales) and the Orchestra of the Swan (UK). Renowned conductors including Carl St. Clair, Paul Freeman, Danielle Gatti, Szymon Kawalla, Franz Krager, Jorge Mester, and Andre Smith have presented his works. The composer’s chamber and vocal works have been presented by various ensembles and artists including The Core Ensemble, Enhake, Ensemble Bash (UK), New Mexico Brass Quintet, New Mexico Winds, Moran Wind Quintet, Quintessence Winds, Ravel String Quartet, Soli Chamber Ensemble, Third Angle Ensemble, Western Arts Trio, clarinetist David Campbell, pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin, percussionist Steven Schick, and violinist Andrzej Grabiec.
Recent commissions include those for The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Pacific Symphony Orchestra (25th Anniversary Commission), Grosseto Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Academic Orchestra, Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Brass Quintet, Quintessence Winds , the Core Ensemble, and Andrzej Grabiec. The composer has also received three commissions from the Arts Council of Wales for the Musicfest Orchestra, Musicfest Trio, and Ensemble Bash. Lieuwen has been the recipient of several awards and honors including First Prize in the Musicians Accord National Competition for Star (1986), First Prize in the CRS National Competition for Composer’s Recording for Anachronisms (1987), and a National Orchestra Association “Second Presentation” Performance Award for Angelfire (1991). The composer was also a finalist in the League of Composers – ISCM World Music Days Competition (1987). Peter Lieuwen has enjoyed a rewarding musical relationship with the Aberystwyth International Music Festival in Wales as the featured composer (1995) and as Artist-in-Residence (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000). His music has also been featured at the Lieksa Brass Festival in Finland (1990) and at many new music festivals throughout the US. The composer has received grants from Meet the Composer, Texas Composers Forum, and Texas A&M University.
Peter Lieuwen was born in Utrecht, The Netherlands, in 1953, and grew up in New Mexico. He studied at the University of New Mexico and the University of California, Santa Barbara with composers Scott Wilkinson, William Wood, Edward Applebaum, Emma Lou Diemer, and Peter Racine Fricker. From 1984 to 1987 he taught composition at UC Santa Barbara. Since 1988 he has been on the faculty of Texas A&M University. From 2000-2005 Lieuwen served as the inaugural head of the Department of Performance Studies at TAMU. He is currently Professor of Music and Composer-in-Residence.
Most of Lieuwen’s music is published by Keiser Classical, with recordings available on Albany, CRS, Crystal, Pro Arte/Fanfare, New World, and VMM. Peter Lieuwen lives with his wife Bonnee and their family of animals in South Central Texas.
Commissions and Performances
River of Crystal Light – 1999
1999: Civic Hall, Stratford-upon-Avon (world premiere)
River of Crystal Light
The inspiration for River of Crystal Light is found in nature. Generally, the abundance of spectacle and beauty of our natural world and, more specifically, the visual and auditory intricacies of rivers: violent rapids, tranquil pools, water falls, rivulets, and such. The idea of “river music” is nothing new as rivers have inspired composers for centuries. Handel’s Water Music, the second movement of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony (Scene by the Brook), Johann Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltz and Smetena’s The Moldau are but a few examples.
The title comes from childhood memories of a favourite nursery rhyme by Eugene Field.
Wynken, Blinken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe;
Sailed on a river of crystal light
Into a sea of dew.
“Where are you going, and what do you wish?”
The old moon asked of the three,
“We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea.
Nets of silver and gold have we,”
Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
The old moon laughed and sang a song
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea.
“Now cast your nets wherever you wish;
Never afeared are we!”
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken and Nod.
Peter Lieuwen